Freedman who was taking charge of Wanderers for the first time since replacing fellow Scot Owen Coyle ten days ago believes that many of the players he has inherited have struggled to adjust to life in the second tier of English football after spending so long in the Premier League.

“When you play in the Premier League you get more time on the ball,” said Freedman.

“There has been a bit of a hangover from last season. In the Premier League, there is more tactical stuff and time on the ball, whereas, in the Championship, teams level themselves out because of work rate and intensity of closing down.

“I have had experience of this division for a couple of years, and I stressed to the players that this is the level and intensity they needs to play at every time.”

Up until this season Bolton had spent eleven years mixing it in the top flight but regardless of their summer demotion one thing that will need to be addressed is their leaky defence.

Prior to the weekend only four clubs in the division had a poorer defensive record than the Lancashire club and Freedman admits he had his own doubts about the resilience of a squad he is still familiarising himself with.

“The challenge I faced was getting to know these lads as people, getting to know their characters and how they might respond if they went 1-0 down,” said the Glaswegian.

“It made me just a little bit wary of what they would be like but they answered those questions, with the way they came back in the second half, and that was the pleasing thing.

"I saw players doing things in that second half I didn’t realise they could do. There were defensive qualities I didn’t know they had, and that showed me they have the desire and hunger to win games.

“Coyley (Owen Coyle) did a fantastic job with the squad of players he had. Maybe it was just a case of a different voice, and hopefully that different voice is going to change their attitude towards working for each other,” he added.